The high temperature Tuesday set a new record at 114. And today looks like it may be the hottest of all.

Temperatures are expected to reach 116 degrees at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where official measurements are taken.

"A persistent, hot, high-pressure system is just sitting over the top of us, and we are baking under it," said Chris Kuhlman of the National Weather Service.

And when might it cool off?

"It depends on what you consider cooling off," Kuhlman said. "The pattern is entrenched. It doesn't look like it will change much in the next few days."

There will be no real relief until the weekend, when temperatures could tumble into the 109-degree range.

And by one measurement, this entire summer could end up on the short list for hottest of all time.

The record for most days of 110 degrees or higher is 32.

By the end of this week, if forecasts hold, that mark will have been reached 27 times. The record will be in sight.

"I grew up in Mexicali," said Elvira Martinez, 46, seeking shade at a downtown Phoenix park. "But this is hotter, and it never cools off."

Through the first 22 days of the month, the average high temperature was 107.5 degrees. If that holds through the end of the month, it will set a record for August.

The same holds true for the average low temperature, which would set a record for highest average low. Through the first 22 days of August, that number is 86.5.

In short, no matter how you choose to define heat, this August has been very hot.

The Weather Service issued an excessive-heat warning through Thursday evening.

Even scorpions appear to be heading indoors because of the heat.

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center said it had been deluged with phone calls from people saying they were stung by scorpions.

More than 70 people called in the 24 hours from Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon looking for medical advice.

"As the weather warms, bugs start sneaking into homes - and the scorpions follow, as the bugs are their source of food," said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, co-medical director of the Banner hospital's Poison and Drug Information Center.

The elderly, people who work outdoors and young children are most at risk from the torrid temperatures, as are pets who are left outside and not properly cared for.

Capt. Scott McDonald of the Phoenix Fire Department says that men and women who are often in the heat typically know how to take care of themselves.

"Construction workers and roofers, they know what to do," McDonald said. "They are out in it and they drink enough, they hydrate."